6 safety and reliability features built into our power distribution boxes

When you’re using power distribution equipment on a construction site, at a live event or as part of a major infrastructure project, safety and reliability have to be of the utmost priority. The equipment needs to perform consistently in demanding environments, protect the people and equipment around it, and continue distributing power when it matters most.

That’s something we’ve been designing and manufacturing our power distribution boxes to deal with for more than 30 years. Our equipment has been used across construction, live events, industrial sites, and major infrastructure projects around the world, and that experience has shaped the way we build it.

From the solid rubber enclosure itself to the circuit protection inside and the checks we carry out before a unit leaves our factory, there are several features that help make our equipment safe, tough and reliable.

Here are six of the most important.

1. Solid rubber, high-impact resistant enclosures

Power distribution equipment used on site rarely spends its life in one place. It’s loaded in and out of vehicles, moved around site, transported between jobs and exposed to the general knocks and impacts that come with working in demanding environments.

That’s one of the reasons we manufacture our power distribution boxes using solid rubber enclosures. They’re tough, high-impact resistant and designed to protect the electrical components inside from the kind of physical damage equipment can experience during everyday use.

Rubber also won’t rust or corrode in the way a metal enclosure can, which is especially important for equipment used outdoors or exposed to difficult conditions throughout its working life. The enclosure houses the components and provides the first layer of protection around them.

2. Double insulation provides another layer of protection

The benefits of a solid rubber enclosure go beyond its ability to withstand knocks and regular handling. Rubber is also non-conductive, which allows the enclosure to form part of the electrical insulation around the components inside.

Our boxes are double insulated, meaning there are two levels of insulation separating live electrical parts from the outside of the unit. This provides an additional safeguard against electric shock without relying on a conductive outer casing.

It’s another reason solid rubber works so well for this type of equipment. As well as protecting what’s inside the box from physical damage, the enclosure itself forms part of the protection between the electrical system and the person using it.

3. IP protection helps keep dust and water out

Power distribution equipment isn’t always going to be used somewhere clean and dry. On construction sites, at outdoor events and across industrial applications, dust, dirt and water can all come into contact with equipment, so the enclosure needs to provide the right level of protection.

Our solid rubber boxes are rated up to IP65, subject to the connectors fitted. An IP rating tells you how well an enclosure protects against the ingress of solids and water. With IP65, the ‘6’ means the enclosure is dust tight, while the ‘5’ means it is protected against water jets from any direction.

This helps keep dust and water away from the electrical components inside the box and gives our units the protection needed for use in a much wider range of locations and conditions. Where a project calls for a particular level of ingress protection, we can also build the unit around the required IP rating and advise on the right connectors and configuration to achieve it.

4. Circuit protection is built into the unit

There’s also the electrical protection inside the box itself. Depending on the unit, we use RCDs, MCBs and RCBOs to protect against faults such as overloads, short circuits and earth leakage.

Each has a different job. MCBs protect against overloads and short circuits, while RCDs detect current leaking to earth and cut the supply when a fault occurs. RCBOs combine both types of protection in one device, which is why you’ll see them used across many of our power distribution boxes.

We can also protect individual outputs separately, so a fault on one circuit doesn’t necessarily mean losing power to everything connected to the unit. The affected circuit can be isolated while the others remain available, helping protect the people and equipment using it while reducing unnecessary downtime.

The protection we fit depends on the unit and what it needs to supply. If you need something outside our standard range, we can also build a bespoke configuration with the connections and circuit protection required for the job.

5. We design and manufacture to British and European standards

When you’re buying power distribution equipment, you need to know that what’s inside the box has been designed and put together properly, not just that the individual components are up to the job.

Our power distribution boxes are designed and manufactured in line with stringent British and European standards, covering everything from the connections and internal wiring to the circuit protection fitted inside. We also operate an ISO 9001-certified Quality Management System, which helps us maintain the same high standards across the way our equipment is manufactured and checked.

This matters even more when we’re building bespoke equipment, where the combination of connections, outputs and protection can vary from one unit to the next. Whatever the specification, the same standards apply to the way we design, manufacture and check the finished product.

6. Every unit is tested before it leaves us

Once a power distribution box has been manufactured, there’s one more important step before it can leave our factory. Every unit we produce is comprehensively tested and goes through quality control by our team of engineers before it is dispatched.

This gives us the opportunity to check the finished unit, rather than relying on the individual components alone. We can make sure everything has been assembled correctly, that the unit meets the required specification and that it is ready to be put to work when it reaches the customer.

The same process applies to our bespoke power distribution boxes, where the inputs, outputs and protection can be built around a specific brief. Whatever we manufacture, it goes through our testing and quality control process before it leaves us.

Over 30 years of safe, reliable power distribution

Our power distribution equipment is used across a wide range of sectors, from TV and film productions to telecoms, defence, data centres, construction sites and beyond.

Each of those applications comes with its own requirements, but the need for safe and reliable power remains the same. Whether you’re ordering something from our standard range or need us to design a bespoke solution around a particular specification, you can be confident that safety, reliability and quality are considered throughout the way we design and manufacture our equipment.

If you’d like to discuss your requirements, give our team a call on 01282 677 910 or email info@rubberbox.co.uk, or browse our range of power distribution boxes to find the right solution for your application.